The Dem IM

To:	MotherGoose
	The Dem IM: KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID!

We must construct a media narrative that fits with people's "conventional wisdom" and plays on their gut truths in order to win in 2006.

So let's get to the point. Here are the three narrative steps to Democratic victory in '06:

1. Republicans control all branches of government.
2. Government is broken.
3. Democrats will fix it.

If we can get voters to accept those three basic truths, there is no reason that 2006 won't be for Democrats what 2004 was for Republicans. Simple enough?

Our goal as a movement should be that every single American believes in this narrative and follows it to its logical conclusion: elect Democrats.

Now let's get more specific:
1. Republican control all branches of government.
Chris Bowers at MyDD has blogged brilliantly about this. 46% thought Dems controlled the House in '04.
Bottom Line:

"whoever the electorate thought was in charge of the House of Representatives tended to lose seats in the House of Representatives... As long as voters both disapprove of the way congress is doing its job and do not know that Republicans have control of congress, we are never going to retake control back."

Plan of Action:

• Demand Democratic surrogates and media outlets refer to "the Republican Congress" as supposed to "the Congress"

2. Government is Broken
Pretty self-explanatory. Most of the nation already believes this:

COUNTRY
Right Track 35%
Wrong Track 62% Source

CONGRESS
Approve 35%
Disapprove 61% Source

Plan of Action:

• One idea to further exacerbate that gap as well as continue to hammer home that Republicans are in control is to pass Articles of Impeachment in a state legislature and attempt to make Republicans deal with it at a National level. Discussions on how to do this are currently ongoing. The current plan seems to be calling for Cheney's impeachment in the Rhode Island legislature. If you are interested in the effort, please send your contact information to theDemIM -at- gmail -dot- com or leave it in the comments.

3. Democrats will fix it.
I don't think we need to really get into this until later in the campaign. As of now, I think running a campaign on "justice" and "government that works" will be fruitful. Highlighting the efforts of our Fighting Dems will also be crucial.

So how do we as bloggers spread these messages and confirm that our narrative becomes conventional wisdom?

Previously, I've suggested this battleplan for the blogosphere:

1. Organize the Blogosphere
   
   • Create a central directory for all of the major blogs
   • Split blogs into specialized categories and sub-categories by specialty
     
     1. Framing - develop our narrative and language (TheDemIM, DemSpeak, Rockridge...)
        
     2. Media Watchers - hold media accountable (Media Matters, Crooks & Liars...)
        
     3. Daily Digests - regularly comment on current events (DailyKos, Atrios...)
     4. Electoral Strategy - report electoral opportunities (MyDD, OurCongress...)
     5. Grassroots Activism - petition, protest, get out the vote (MoveOn, America Votes...)
     6. Local Blogs - district-by-district, seat-by-seat local accounts of important races and issues (LeftyBlogs)
        
2. Develop a Message on Why Their Bad and Why We're Better
   
   • Develop a language/narrative that speaks to our values and our voters (Framing)
     
3. Hold the Media Accountable to our Message
   
   • Repeat our narrative and language in context (Daily Digests) and demand media do the same (Media Watchers)
     
4. Hammer the Republicans on What They Do Wrong
   
   • Use the system to make Republican re-election untenable
     
5. Introduce Our Own Plan
• Introduce our own "Contract with America" type document in the weeks leading up to the election that sets out our values and specific policies
  
6. Get Boots on The Ground
   
   • Use activists/volunteers from netroots, meetups, DNC, etc. to get votes one-by-one
     
7. Win

Let's get to work.

TAGS: Framing, Democratic Message, 2006 Elections